The Arranged Shadow

Sera's POV 

The second Kaelan ended the call with Liora, I pushed away from him and stood up on shaky legs. My body still ached from the way he had taken me, but the humiliation burning in my chest hurt worse.

“She’s coming here?” I demanded, grabbing the sheet and wrapping it around myself. “Right now? While I’m still naked in your bed with your cum dripping down my legs?”

Kaelan sat up slowly, completely unbothered. “She’s not coming into this room. You stay here until I handle it.”

“Handle it?” I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Like I’m some dirty secret you need to hide? Of course. I’m the whore you fuck while your perfect fiancée gets the real life with you.”

His eyes darkened. He got off the bed and walked toward me, still naked and completely unashamed. “You’re not a secret. You’re mine for the year. That’s different.”

“Different?” I stepped back until my back hit the wall. “She gets the dinners and the public appearances. I get bent over and used whenever you’re hard. Tell me how that’s different, Kaelan.”

He stopped right in front of me. For a second I thought he was going to grab me again, but instead he just stared down at me with that intense gray gaze. “Because I don’t want her the way I want you.”

The words hit me harder than they should have. I hated how much they affected me.

I shoved past him and walked out of the bedroom, still wrapped in the sheet. I needed air. I needed space. I wandered into the massive living room, the city lights mocking me through the huge windows. This place was beautiful and cold, just like him.

I heard Kaelan’s voice coming from the hallway. He was on the phone again.

“…yes, Liora, she’s here for business. No, it’s not what you think. Just drop it.”

I moved closer to the doorway and listened.

Liora’s voice was loud enough that I could hear her through the speaker. “Business? Don’t insult me. I saw the way you looked at her yesterday. Get rid of her, Kaelan, or I swear I’ll make sure our families pull out of the alliance. I won’t be embarrassed like this.”

My stomach twisted. So she already suspected. Of course she did.

I stepped into the hallway. “Business?” I said loudly. “Is that what you call it when you fuck me against the wall?”

Kaelan turned sharply. His jaw clenched when he saw me standing there in nothing but a sheet. Liora must have heard me because the line went silent for a second, then she started shouting.

Kaelan ended the call immediately and stalked toward me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Showing her the truth,” I shot back. “Or are you going to keep pretending I’m just some business associate while you keep me here like a pet?”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the living room. The sheet slipped down my shoulder. He didn’t care. He pushed me against the large leather couch and spun me around, bending me over the back of it again.

“You want to act out?” he growled, yanking the sheet completely off me. “Fine.”

He kicked my legs apart and thrust into me without warning. I cried out, gripping the couch cushions. This time he was rougher, angrier. One hand fisted in my hair, the other slapped my ass hard enough to sting.

“You belong to me,” he said with every thrust. “Not her. Not your brother. Not anyone else. Say it.”

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, refusing. He slapped me again and reached around to rub my clit roughly. The combination of pain and pleasure made my eyes water.

“Say it,” he demanded, pounding into me harder.

“I belong to you,” I gasped, hating how true it sounded in that moment.

He fucked me until I came hard, shaking and moaning his name. Only then did he let go, finishing deep inside me with a low groan.

For a few seconds the only sound was our heavy breathing. Then my phone started ringing on the coffee table where I had left it earlier.

I reached for it with trembling hands. It was Marcus.

Kaelan pulled out of me but didn’t step away. He stayed pressed against my back, still inside me as I answered the call.

“Sera, where the fuck are you?” Marcus’s voice was tight with worry and barely contained rage. “Mom is losing her mind. I’ve been calling for two days. What happened with the Voss people? Did you do something stupid?”

I tried to keep my voice steady even though Kaelan was still buried deep inside me. “I handled the debt, Marcus. It’s gone. Everything is fine.”

“Bullshit,” he snapped. “I can hear it in your voice. If you’re with Kaelan Voss right now I swear I’ll come there and drag you out myself.”

Kaelan’s hand tightened on my hip. He started moving again, slow and deliberate, like he wanted me to struggle to keep my voice normal.

“I’m safe,” I said, biting back a moan as he hit a sensitive spot. “Just… trust me. Please.”

Marcus didn’t believe me. “Tell me where you are. Right now. I’m coming to get you.”

Kaelan took the phone from my hand, ended the call, and tossed it aside. He pulled out of me and turned me around to face him.

“You don’t explain yourself to him,” he said quietly, eyes burning. “Not about us.”

I stared up at him, chest heaving, tears of frustration and shame burning in my eyes. My brother was coming. Liora was furious. And I was standing here naked, marked by the man I was supposed to hate, still feeling the aftershocks of what he had just done to me.

This wasn’t just a contract anymore.

This was quickly becoming a nightmare I wasn’t sure I could survive.